Coronavirus

Dave McGuire figures Oregonians should be able to decide for themselves whether to sit down in a restaurant and have a meal. Read more

Kerry McQuisten is Baker City’s new mayor. Read more

Walking into the Baker High School gymnasium on the fourth day of 2021, Buell Gonzales Jr. heard something he hadn’t heard in months. Read more

Baker County’s respite from Oregon’s most extreme COVID-19 restrictions will last just two weeks. Read more

The number of Baker County residents who have received their first of two doses of a COVID-19 vaccine has nearly doubled over the past week. Read more

Baker County will return to the extreme-risk level for COVID-19 spread, and the resulting stringent restrictions on restaurants and other businesses, starting Friday, Jan. 15. Read more

Mark Bennett references a roller coaster, while Tyler Brown’s favored metaphor is the yo-yo, but both are concerned about fluctuating restrictions in Baker County due to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting effects on local businesses. Read more

The Baker School District is gearing up to extend in-person instruction for all middle school and high school students to two days per week next semester. Read more

Volunteers draped in medical garments were prepped and ready to go at noon Wednesday outside Baker High School as residents lined up in their vehicles to get a free COVID-19 test. Read more

Ashley McClay says she’s learned a lot about the COVID-19 vaccines being administered to frontline workers in Baker County, and she’s confident that receiving the shot was the best choice for her. Read more

Baker County ranks near the middle of Oregon’s 36 counties in its rate of administering COVID-19 vaccines. Read more

After working for several months treating people who are recovering from bouts with COVID-19, Lori Brock now uses a telephone to fight the virus. Read more

Baker County will drop from the extreme to the high risk category for COVID-19 spread starting Friday, Jan. 1, which means restaurants can have limited indoor dining, and fitness centers, theaters and museums can open, also with occupancy limits, for the first time in almost a month. Read more

After reviewing records showing how severely the pandemic has affected dozens of Baker County businesses, Bruce Nichols understands that nearly $700,000 in federal aid is no panacea. Read more

The Powder River Correctional Facility in Baker City has had 18 inmates test positive for COVID-19. Read more

Dave McGuire doesn’t want a government handout. Read more

Friday, Dec. 18 was a landmark day in the COVID-19 pandemic at Saint Alphonsus Medical Center in Baker City. Read more

Mandy Peterson’s temporary new job can be emotionally taxing at times, but it’s also rewarding. Read more

Baker City’s first state-sponsored COVID-19 testing event didn’t officially start until 11 o’clock Wednesday morning, but 10 minutes before the hour, half a dozen cars were already waiting. Read more

The Oregon Health Authority (OHA) announced today that Baker County will remain in the extreme risk category for the spread of COVID-19, meaning the county will be subject to the most stringent state restrictions through at least New Year’s Eve. Read more

This time of year, Jana and Del Woodcock usually look forward to a bit of a break as business slows down. Read more

Baker County Commissioner Mark Bennett said he knew COVID-19 was a dangerous virus even before it entered his own household. Read more

Doses of the nation’s first approved vaccine for COVID-19 were scheduled to arrive today at Saint Alphonsus Medical Center in Ontario, and some of those will be given to employees at Saint Alphonsus in Baker City by Friday. Read more

If you live in Baker County and have tested positive for COVID-19, or spent much time close to someone who contracted the virus, there’s a good chance you’ve talked to LeAnne Bourne. Read more

High school sports in Oregon will be delayed even longer than previously planned due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Read more

Baker County made history on Thursday. Read more

Baker County will face Oregon’s most stringent COVID-19 restrictions for at least the next two weeks. Read more

A fourth Baker County resident has died after testing positive for COVID-19, the Oregon Health Authority reported Tuesday. Read more

Baker City’s annual Twilight Christmas Parade probably won’t happen, the latest in a series of events canceled due to restrictions designed to slow the spread of COVID-19. Read more

Baker County restaurants and bars could be confined to takeout service and limited outdoor dining, and gyms and fitness centers could remain closed through at least the middle of December based on new COVID-19 restrictions that Gov. Kate Brown announced Wednesday, Nov. 25. Read more

Baker City restaurants are struggling through the two-week statewide “freeze” that prohibits in-person dining and limits them to offering takeout meals through Dec. 2. Read more

Karl Wittich will serve roasted turkey as usual this Thanksgiving, but he’ll miss the part of the holiday that he considers as nourishing, in its way, as anything on the menu. Read more

Baker School District officials believe it’s no coincidence that COVID-19 is not spreading among students in classrooms. Read more

After a hiatus of more than nine months, organized high school sports in Oregon are set to resume Dec. 28 with a season for traditional winter sports. Read more

Elected leaders from Eastern Oregon counties, including Baker, who signed a letter asking Gov. Kate Brown for changes to her approach to COVID-19 shutdowns say the letter was not in direct response to the current two-week “freeze,” but was crafted over several weeks as an outline of what the… Read more

Baker City Police Chief Ray Duman and Baker County Sheriff Travis Ash said their officers won’t be looking for potential violations of the limits on the size of social gatherings in effect during the statewide “freeze” that started Wednesday, Nov. 18, and continues through at least Dec. 2. Read more

Baker City’s 13th-annual Turkey Trot fundraiser will happen on Thanksgiving Day, but like so much else this year the event will be different. Read more

Baker County’s recent increase in the rate of COVID-19 infections continues, and with Thanksgiving barely a week away, Nancy Staten is hoping residents will heed advice about how to protect themselves, their family and friends from contracting the virus. Read more

The halls of Baker High School and Baker Middle School were abuzz this week, albeit at reduced volumes from past years. Read more

Gov. Kate Brown on Friday announced a 2-week statewide “freeze” starting Nov. 18 that is designed to curb the surge in COVID-19 cases. Read more

Tyler Brown had to cut his restaurant’s capacity significantly this spring due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and on Monday he learned he had a day and half to get ready to slash even more of his potential revenue. Read more

Baker County reported 11 new COVID-19 cases on Tuesday, the second-highest one-day total since the pandemic started in March. Read more

Two more Baker elementary school children — a third-grader at Brooklyn Primary and a sixth-grader at South Baker Intermediate — have tested positive for COVID-19, Superintendent Mark Witty announced on Thursday. Read more

Oregon Gov. Kate Brown said Friday that Baker County is one of five counties “on the cusp” of meeting metrics that would lead to a 2-week “pause” designed to slow the recent surge in new COVID-19 cases. Read more

The increase in new cases of COVID-19 in Baker County over the past 12 days has also boosted the workload for contact tracers from the county’s health department. Read more

Baker County didn’t record any new cases of COVID-19 Saturday or Sunday, but eight new cases were reported on Monday. Read more

Baker County this week had its biggest surge in new COVID-19 cases since the pandemic started, and Nancy Staten is frustrated. Read more

Baker County set a one-day record high with 10 new cases of COVID-19 on Tuesday. Read more

As the end of the first quarter of classes approaches, Baker School District students are continuing to adjust to changes brought about by the coronavirus pandemic. Read more

The traditional fall high school sports started their 5-week “mini-session” at Baker High School on Oct. 12, preparing for what they hope is a return to regular competition in 2021. Read more

A review of the first 2 days of in-person classes for Baker School District elementary students brought celebratory exclamations from School Board members, administrators and teachers Thursday night. Read more

Baker County’s COVID-19 rollercoaster continued this week. Read more

Leelah Wallace was so excited about her first day of first grade Wednesday — the real first day — that she could hardly bear to sit beside her mother, Erica, on a bench just outside Brooklyn Primary School. Read more

Perhaps the most stressful waiting period for people in 2020 can be quite a bit shorter for some Baker County residents. Read more

Tom McLay uses the word “lucky” a couple of times but McLay, superintendent at the Powder River Correctional Facility in Baker City, gives a lot more credit to conscientious people than to good fortune for keeping COVID-19 out of the minimum-security prison. Read more

Although in-person activities aren’t happening at the Baker County Library, the staff is putting together special kits and online events for youth. Read more

Gissel Loza’s dining room table turned into a classroom Tuesday morning. Read more